Stokes, Horn Lake make history in Tuesday elections
A filled Horn Lake City Hall watched as election results were posted Tuesday night. (Bob Bakken/desotocountynews.com)
Horn Lake apparently made some history with Tuesday night’s mayoral results electing Jimmy Stokes II as its new mayor.
According to DeSoto County Museum curator and historian Robert Long, Stokes is believed to be the first elected African-American mayor of a DeSoto County city. He defeated Alderman-at Large Danny Klein 1,479-1,396 in unofficial totals revealed after the vote.
Speaking with DeSoto County News Tuesday night after the election results, Long acknowledged that Walls has an African-American mayor in Keidron Henderson. But Long said Walls is considered a town, not a city, and that while there have been others who have had roles in local government, such as sheriff, he could not recall another African-American leading a DeSoto County city.
“During reconstruction, there were several African-American officeholders, but I do not believe there was an elected African-American mayor of any municipality until this election,” Long said.
Stokes, who has been a Horn Lake Planning Commissioner for Ward 5 and is senior pastor for Northeast Side Church of Christ in Bartlett, Tennessee, carried four of the six wards in Tuesday’s election, including his own Ward 5, where the difference was 277-84. Klein carried Wards 2 and 3, especially Ward 2, where Klein held a 410-264 advantage.
Of the nearly 15,000 active voters registered for Tuesday’s election, nearly 2,900 cast ballots, which Stokes noted was a clear indication of city involvement in the process.
“Horn Lake voted today, it was massive,” Stokes said. “We’re so thankful to Horn Lake for voting. But we’re just so thankful to all the volunteers from every campaign, Republicans and Democrats that came out and just showed up and showed that Horn Lake can vote.”
In commenting on the results Tuesday night, Stokes said his message was that Horn Lake can be better economically than it is now.
“The numbers show that we should improve,” Stokes said. “We should have way more when it comes to economic structure, big, bigger corporations. It’s time to actually turn Horn Lake around and give these people what they deserve.”
Stokes noted that Horn Lake does not have a movie theater, like is found in Southaven and Horn Lake, and said residents are going to shop elsewhere instead of in the city.
“I think the fact is that we can have a strong economy here,” said Stokes. “That’s what people really want, and we can have family-friendly entertainment.”
His immediate plans are to look over the city’s financial situation and get an audit done, with a vision of a community center in Horn Lake for youngsters and seniors to gather.
“People talk about how bad the kids are, but if you don’t have anything for them, then guess what?” Stokes said. “What else do you expect? So we should focus on the community center, have more family friendly environments and entertainment.”
The mayor-elect will be working with a Board of Aldermen that will have only two Republicans on it, with the reelection of Jackie Bostick in Ward 3 and Tommy Bledsoe in Ward 2. Instead of one Democrat on the board with LaShonda Johnson in Ward 5, there will now be five Democrats: Johnson, Larry McKinney (at-Large); Kelly Smith (Ward 4); Joshua Langston (Ward 1), and Charlotte Armstrong (Ward 6).
Stokes expects to be able to work the board, regardless of the “R” or “D” next to their name.
“They’re good guys and I believe we all gonna work together,” Stokes said in speaking about Bostick and Bledsoe.
The new mayor and Board of Aldermen will take office on July 1. Stokes assumes the mayoral position from retiring Mayor Allen Latimer, who has been in office for 12 years. Latimer defeated Stokes and independent Cole Bostick in the 2021 mayoral election.
WE KNEW A SMITH WOULD WIN: Voters in Ward 4 had to be careful they were voting for the right candidate and could not depend on the last name. That’s because it was Smith vs. Smith on the ballot with Republican Dylan Smith against Democrat Kelly Smith. It was Kelly Smith who won by a 210-192 margin.
NO HOUSEHOLD POLITICS HERE: Tuesday’s vote set up the possibility of a husband and wife serving on the same board, as Ward 6 Alderman Robby DuPree was running for reelection against Charlotte Armstrong, while wife Heather DuPree was on the ballot against Larry McKinney for the open Alderman-at Large seat. Neither DuPree succeeded, however, with Armstrong outpolling Robby DuPree 313-295, and McKinney defeating Heather DuPree 1,403-1,381. Both Robby and Heather said ahead of the election there would be no talk of politics in the house away from City Hall.
YES, YOU CAN VOTE!: Tuesday’s elections showed that when issues are important to an electorate, they will come out. In a city of 26,285, there were 15,777 registered voters for the Horn Lake municipal election. Of that number, as many as 2,875 who voted for mayor came out, an encouraging outcome in a county beset with problems getting people to participate in the process.
HORN LAKE GOES SOLO ON ELECTION DAY: The city was the only one in DeSoto County to have a municipal general election on Tuesday. Mayoral and aldermen seats in Southaven, Hernando, and Olive Branch were already determined during the primary election in April, negating the need for a general election. Horn Lake was also the only county city during this municipal election cycle to have Democrats and Republicans qualified for every seat being contested on the ballot.
UNOFFICIAL HORN LAKE VOTE TOTALS
